Written Answers Friday 27 January 2006

Scottish Executive

Autism

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it was aware that the charity Independent Special Education Advice obtained funding from Comic Relief to monitor the implementation of the Additional Support for Learning (Scotland) Act 2004 in every local authority area before the Executive commissioned the National Autistic Society to fulfil the same role.

Robert Brown: The Scottish Executive has not commissioned the National Autistic Society to monitor the implementation of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004. The implementation of the act is being monitored by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education.

Child Care

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many child care places have closed in each year since 1999.

Robert Brown: The Scottish Executive does not collect information on the number of childcare places that have closed each year.

  Statistics are collected each year on pre-school education and childcare, which are available on the Scottish Executive website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/statistics/children.

Cities

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in addressing the issues raised in the Review of Scotland’s Cities.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Executive recognises the critical role played by successful and dynamic city-regions as engines of growth for the national economy and the contribution that cities make to national competitiveness. This is reflected in a number of recent policy statements, including the National Planning Framework for Scotland , the Framework for Economic Development in Scotland , the Infrastructure Investment Plan  and the refreshed A Smart, Successful Scotland , which emphasise both the connections between cities and city-regions and the importance of collaborating to compete effectively on the international stage.

  In line with the conclusions of the Cities Review, we recognise that the regeneration of particular places and communities is key to the overall success of each city and to each of the city-regions that surrounds them. Our programmes of investment in skills, transport and infrastructure are bringing clear benefits to all our city-regions.

  Specific investment programmes include the Cities Growth Fund and the Vacant and Derelict Land Fund. The Executive is also supporting pathfinder Urban Regeneration Companies in Craigmillar, Raploch and Clydebank.

Cities

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funds have been allocated to address the issues raised in the Review of Scotland’s Cities.

Mr Tom McCabe: As part of its response to the Cities Review, the Executive approved the creation of the Cities Growth Fund, the Vacant and Derelict Land Fund and announced consultation on Urban Regeneration Companies.

  The Cities Growth Fund provides a dedicated source of infrastructure investment funding for our six city-based local authorities to deliver sustainable economic growth and regeneration in each city-region. It will provide £173 million over the five years 2003-08.

  The Scottish Executive allocated £20 million to the Vacant and Derelict Land Fund for financial years 2004-06 and a further £24.3 million has been made available through Spending Review 2004 for 2006-08.

  The Executive is also supporting innovative delivery vehicles such as Urban Regeneration Companies (URCs). This is backed by £20 million from the Scottish Executive over the period 2004-06. To date three Urban Regeneration Companies have been granted "pathfinder" URC status in Scotland. A further £22 million has been allocated through Spending Review 2004 for the period 2006-08.

  The Scottish Budget also includes funding for a wide range of other measures which benefit our cities and their surrounding city-regions. These include addressing the skills gap, tackling unemployment and supporting business growth and jobs.

Construction Industry

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been killed in accidents in the construction industry in each of the last five years and in how many of these accidents the ensuing safety investigation has led to criminal proceedings.

Colin Boyd QC: The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service does not hold the information requested. Information about the number of people killed in accidents in the construction industry can, however, be obtained from the Health and Safety Executive ( www.hse.gov.uk ).

  Charges relating to deaths in the construction industry cannot be identified separately on the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s Case Management Database from other health and safety charges relating to workers in any other industry.

Contaminated Blood Products

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the UK Government in respect of documents associated with the contamination of blood products.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive is in regular discussion with the UK Government on a wide range of matters including the specific issue raised.

Contaminated Blood Products

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what role or input the UK Government had in respect of documents associated with the contamination of blood products recently released by the Executive under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Mr Andy Kerr: These documents were released in accordance with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. There was no involvement from the UK Government.

Contaminated Blood Products

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the UK Government has advised the Executive (a) which documents associated with the contamination of blood products have been destroyed, (b) in what format such documents were held, (c) where they were held and (d) by what process or mechanism they were destroyed and what explanation the UK Government has offered for the destruction of the documents.

Mr Andy Kerr: The UK Government has not provided the Executive with any information beyond the explanation released publicly that files were destroyed due to being incorrectly archived after the HIV litigation process in the early 1990s.

Debt

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-20069 by Hugh Henry on 8 November 2005, whether it will provide a breakdown of the number of approved money advisers to the Debt Arrangement Scheme by local authority area.

Allan Wilson: Aberdeen
 1


 Aberdeenshire
 Nil


 Angus
 1


 Argyll and Bute
 1


 Clackmannanshire
 2


 Dumfries and Galloway
 3


 Dundee City
 Nil


 East Ayrshire
 Nil


 East Dunbartonshire
 1


 East Lothian
 1


 East Renfrewshire
 2


 Edinburgh City
 6


 Eilean Siar (Western Isles)
 1


 Falkirk
 5


 Fife
 6


 Glasgow City
 2


 Highland
 3


 Inverclyde
 Nil


 Midlothian
 Nil


 Moray
 1


 North Ayrshire
 4


 North Lanarkshire
 4


 Orkney
 Nil


 Perth
 1


 Renfrewshire
 Nil


 Scottish Borders
 Nil


 Shetland 
 Nil


 South Ayrshire
 1


 South Lanarkshire
 3


 Stirling
 Nil


 West Dunbartonshire
 1


 West Lothian 
 Nil


 Total
 50 



  Figures correct at 24 January 2006.

Debt

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding the Debt Arrangement Scheme has received in each year since its inception, broken down by local authority area.

Allan Wilson: There was no direct funding for local authorities to deliver the Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS) at its inception in November 2004.

  The Scottish Executive has given the local authorities funding of £2 million in 2005-06 to support the development of money advice services. The table breaks down that figure by local authority.

  The decision on how to spend the allocated funding is for each local authority to make, but the Executive set out in guidance their expectation that at least £40,000 of each allocation (£1.28 million pounds) was to be spend on providing or enabling DAS approved money advisers.

  /£2 Million Allocation(p.a.) - DAS

  

 Authority
 Allocation


 Aberdeen City
£52,001.14


 Aberdeenshire
£45,163.67


 Angus
£40,000.00


 Argyll and Bute
£40,000.00


 Clackmannanshire
£40,000.00


 Dumfries and Galloway
£43,440.01


 Dundee City
£62,114.83


 East Ayrshire
£52,508.90


 East Dunbartonshire
£40,000.00


 East Lothian
£40,000.00


 East Renfrewshire
£40,000.00


 Edinburgh, City of
£104,483.11


 Eilean Siar
£60,000.00


 Falkirk
£50,582.11


 Fife
£100,345.60


 Glasgow City
£286,383.12


 Highland
£57,966.86


 Inverclyde
£42,815.40


 Midlothian
£40,000.00


 Moray
£40,000.00


 North Ayrshire
£57,588.72


 North Lanarkshire
£122,460.49


 Orkney Islands
£60,000.00


 Perth and Kinross
£40,000.00


 Renfrewshire
£62,603.09


 Scottish Borders
£40,000.00


 Shetland Islands
£60,000.00


 South Ayrshire
£40,000.00


 South Lanarkshire
£98,050.88


 Stirling
£40,000.00


 West Dunbartonshire
£45,167.28


 West Lothian
£56,324.77


 Total
£2,000,000

Debt

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been placed on a debt payment programme since the Debt Arrangement Scheme was created, broken down by local authority area.

Allan Wilson: The following table outlines the number of Debt Arrangement Scheme debt payment programmes broken down by local authority as at 24 January 2006.

  

 Argyll and Bute
2


 Dumfries and Galloway
17


 East Renfrewshire
4


 Edinburgh City
2


 Fife
2


 Glasgow
2


 Moray
1


 North Ayrshire
2


 North Lanarkshire Council
88


 Total
120

Debt

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have defaulted on a debt payment programme since the Debt Arrangement Scheme was created, broken down by local authority area.

Allan Wilson: Since the inception of the Debt Arrangement Scheme one debt payment programme has been revoked due to debtor default. This programme was in Dumfries and Galloway.

Debt

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what level of debt (a) in total and (b) on average people using the Debt Arrangement Scheme have had since it came into force, broken down by local authority area.

Allan Wilson: The total debt covered by the Debt Arrangement Scheme is £1,039,947.83. The table outlines total debt and average debt broken down by local authority.

  

 Authority
 Average
 Total


 Argyle and Bute
£9,272.10
£18,544.20


 Dumfries and Galloway
£8,880.55
£150,969.44


 Eat Renfrewshire
£29,793.24
£119,172.98


 Edinburgh City
£7,291.83
£14,583.66


 Fife
£21,603.25
£43,206.50


 Glasgow City
£6,869.68
£13,739.37


 Moray
£19,736.00
£19,736.00


 North Ayrshire
£41,526.83
£83,053.66


 North Lanarkshire
£6,556.16
£576,942.02


 Scotland
£8,666.23
£1,039,947.83 



  Figures correct at 24 January 2006.

Debt

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on levels of (a) consumer and (b) overall debt in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Allan Wilson: The Executive does not currently collect information on (a) consumer debt and (b) overall debt. A recent report from the Department for Trade and Industry contains some information on debt for Great Britain, however we do not have this information at Scotland level. The report can be accessed via the following link  http://www.dti.gov.uk/ccp/topics1/pdf1/debtdtionmori.pdf .

  From July 2006 the Office for National Statistics survey on wealth and assets will collect information on household debt. The first annual results should be available at the end of 2007. There will be results for Scotland as a whole, but not for individual local authority areas.

Diabetes

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that diabetes managed clinical networks remain key to the modernisation and improvement of diabetes services in NHS Scotland.

Mr Andy Kerr: Yes, diabetes managed clinical networks remain central to the modernisation and improvement of diabetes services in Scotland.

Diabetes

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the current diabetes managed clinical networks have managers in post.

Mr Andy Kerr: Twelve areas currently have a manager with responsibility for their diabetes managed clinical network in post. The remaining three areas are taking active steps to fill the vacancy.

Diabetes

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many managers of diabetes managed clinical networks also have responsibility for CHD and stroke managed clinical networks.

Mr Andy Kerr: Four managers with responsibility for a diabetes managed clinical network also have responsibility for CHD and stroke managed clinical networks.

Diabetes

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it expects NHS boards to continue funding diabetes managed clinical network manager posts after the initial two-year funding has ended.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Executive expects NHS boards to provide appropriate management and administrative support to enable diabetes managed clinical networks to function effectively. This would include a manager funded to support the network.

Diabetes

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the likely impact will be on local service planning if a local diabetes managed clinical network is operated on a mainly voluntary basis.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Executive expects NHS boards to provide appropriate management and administrative support to enable diabetes managed clinical networks to function effectively. Managed clinical networks by their nature seek to involve all those with an interest in the condition or patient group. Most of these people will not expect to receive additional payment for their involvement in the managed clinical network.

Diabetes

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what national leadership is provided for local diabetes managed clinical networks.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Diabetes Group, the Executive’s advisory group on diabetes, is the body responsible for supporting the implementation of the Scottish Diabetes Framework including local diabetes managed clinical networks.

Diabetes

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what role it expects diabetes managed clinical networks to play in the continued implementation of the Scottish Diabetes Framework.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Executive expects that managed clinical networks will continue to provide strategic leadership and a collaborative framework to support the improvement of diabetes services and the implementation of national initiatives in diabetes.

Education

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers it desirable that school pupils use past exam papers to prepare for national examinations.

Peter Peacock: Past exam papers are one of a range of useful study aids which school pupils may wish to use to prepare for examinations.

Education

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider the possibility of establishing an interactive past exam papers website to aid school students preparing for national examinations.

Peter Peacock: This is a matter for the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA). I have asked Anton Colella, the Chief Executive of SQA, to reply directly to you.

Education

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Aberdeen City Council and the Scottish Agricultural College regarding the future of Mackie Hall on the Craibstone Estate which is currently used as a hostel for boarders from Aberdeen City Music School.

Peter Peacock: There have been no such discussions, either with the council or college. It is for the council, who manage the Music School at Dyce Academy, to arrange for the accommodation of boarders. A significant proportion of the Executive’s annual grant of £0.7 million to the council to support the running of the school is currently used for such purposes.

Energy

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will submit a formal response to the UK Government’s Energy Review and, if not, how it will contribute to the review.

Allan Wilson: The Scottish Executive is already engaged in the UK Energy Review and I have confirmed to the Scottish Parliament that we will respond to it.

  I will also maintain regular contact with the UK energy minister Malcolm Wicks, and my officials will continue to be involved during the review in regular discussions and meetings with the DTI-led review team.

Enterprise

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures have been introduced since 1999 to bring together universities, businesses, research institutes and colleges to ensure that companies have the earliest opportunity to benefit from the newest technologies.

Nicol Stephen: The main measures introduced since 1999 which are aimed at facilitating knowledge transfer from the research base to companies are shown in the following table. Further information and plans for future activity in this area are provided in the Scottish Executive’s Response to the Lambert Review of Business-University Collaboration, March 2005, a copy of which is in the Scottish Parliament’s Information Centre. The Scottish Funding Council has established an overarching Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Group which will take forward the knowledge transfer agenda in both the university and the college sectors. Technology Ventures Scotland, supported by Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Funding Council, also looks at knowledge transfer strategy and innovation across Scotland, taking an overarching role in encouraging the commercialisation of Scotland’s Science and technology research, particularly from the perspective of business.

  

 Initiative
Year First Introduced
 Provider
 Purpose of Initiative


Proof of Concept
1999
 Scottish Enterprise
 To provide pre-seed development gap funding to allow universities, research institutes and NHS Trusts to bring ideas from discovery in the laboratory to the proof of concept stage. 


Knowledge Transfer Grant 
 2001
 Scottish Funding Council
 To provide higher education institutions with a flexible funding stream to support knowledge transfer activities, including commercialisation of research.


 Intermediary Technology Institutes 
 2003
 Scottish Enterprise
 To act as a substitute for corporate research and development expenditure; to substantially increase and sustain the birth rate of indigenous high value-add technology based companies leading to significant improvements in productivity gains.


 SME Collaborative Research Programme (SCORE) 
 2003
 Scottish Executive
 To support Scottish based SMEs undertaking joint research and development projects with the public sector science base.


 Scottish Executive Enterprise and Knowledge Transfer (SEEKIT)
 2003
 Scottish Executive
 To support projects that promote co-operation in research and development and knowledge transfer between the Scottish public sector science base and Scottish SMEs.


 Scottish Proposal Assistance Fund (SPAF) 
 2003
 Scottish Funding Council
 To increase Scottish industry participation in the EU Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) and to increase the scale of research and development by Scottish companies, linking those companies to the research base.


 Proposal Assistance for Co-ordination of European Research (PACER) 
 Pilot – 2003-04
Expanded 2004-05
 Scottish Funding Council 
 To assist Scottish universities access EU Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) funding, and to increase links with Scottish companies.


 Interface
 2005
 Scottish Higher Education sector funded by the Scottish Funding Council 
 To provide a central point of access for business, particularly SMEs, to research in the higher education sector.


 Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department (SEERAD) Knowledge Transfer and Management Grant
 2006
 Scottish Executive
 To improve knowledge management and transfer and collaboration from SEERAD Main Research Providers

Enterprise

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken since 1999 to allow companies to benefit from pan-European programmes for technology transfer.

Nicol Stephen: A range of support is in place to help companies in Scotland benefit from pan-European programmes for technology transfer.

  The Innovation Relay Centre (IRC) Scotland assists Scottish organisations in Transnational Technology Transfer (TTT) through the IRC Network across Europe.

  The Scottish Proposal Assistance Fund is designed to increase Scottish Industry participation in the EU Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) which supports collaborative research and development with a commercial end in view.

Enterprise

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken since 1999 to enable Scottish innovations to be translated quickly and efficiently into commercial products.

Nicol Stephen: As part of its pipeline of support, the Scottish Executive and its agencies have a range of initiatives in place to assist Scottish innovations. These include:

  the ICASS (Innovators’ Counselling and Advisory Service for Scotland) service, which provides free, specialist, confidential advice to innovators, inventors and small innovative companies on issues such as commercial viability, intellectual property protection and product development;

  the Small Companies Innovation Scheme (SCIS) delivered by Scottish Enterprise and equivalent support offered by Highlands and Islands Enterprise;

  the Executive’s SMART, SPUR and SPURPLUS industrial research and development (R&D) support schemes;

  Scottish Enterprise’s R&D Plus scheme for large companies, and

  the £49 million Proof of Concept Programme to assist universities, research institutes and NHS Trusts to bring ideas from the laboratory into the market place.

Enterprise

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what consultations have taken place with local business organisations, and specifically the local chambers of commerce network, in respect of any restructuring of local enterprise companies.

Nicol Stephen: Ministers have made it clear that any proposals should have the support of business. They have discussed, and will continue to discuss, with Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise the nature and outcome of their discussions with business organisations and other interested parties.

Fireworks

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many penalty notices have been issued in each year since 1999 in respect of the illegal use of fireworks, broken down by police force area.

Colin Boyd QC: In England and Wales, under the penalty notice for disorder scheme, the police can issue penalty notices for certain firework offences, but this scheme does not apply in Scotland. The Antisocial Behaviour etc (Scotland) Act 2004 creates a police power to issue fixed penalty offences for certain offences associated with antisocial behaviour. The scheme is currently being piloted in Tayside, but the list of fixed penalty offences included in the scheme does not include any offence relating to fireworks.

Fisheries

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether an offence relating to fishing without a licence to fish in that part of the Solway Firth defined as "Scottish waters" can be prosecuted through the English courts and, if so, why this is permissible.

Ross Finnie: It would be possible to prosecute an offence relating to fishing without a licence in the Scottish side of the Solway Estuary in an English Court. Fishing licensing arrangements are set up on a UK basis. The only licensing regime that applies exclusively at present on the Scottish side of the Solway is that established for fishing vessels throughout UK waters by an Order under section 4 of the Sea Fish (Conservation) Act 1967. Section 14 of that act states that an offence can be treated as having been committed in any part of the United Kingdom. The relevant Order is the Sea Fish Licencing Order 1992 (SI.1992 2633) (as amended) which has UK extent and proceedings for a breach of which can be applied anywhere in the UK. There have, however, been no instances of such an offence committed in Scotland being prosecuted in England or vice versa since devolution.

Fresh Talent Initiative

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Fresh Talent initiative was first considered; when it was first made public and promoted; when the Executive acquired the rights to the domain name "fresh talent"; how much this acquisition cost, and why the Executive did not register the name at the outset of the initiative.

Mr Tom McCabe: In February 2003, the First Minister announced his intention to take action to increase Scotland’s population by attracting people to live and work in Scotland. Following this announcement, a project team was set up in the Executive to develop proposals to encourage and facilitate the managed migration of people to Scotland. This team was supported by a steering group, comprising external interests as well as government officials. The team’s work contributed towards the policy statement, New Scots: Attracting Fresh Talent to Meet the Challenge of Growth , which was published on 25 February 2004.

  Negotiations to acquire the Fresh Talent uniform resource locators (urls) began in March 2004 – as these domain names were owned by a private company - before the launch of the scotlandistheplace.com website. Negotiations to procure the domain names with the company were not successful at that point. The names Fresh Talent.com, Fresh Talent Scotland.com and Fresh Talent.co.uk were finally acquired for £3,000 in February 2005.

Fresh Talent Initiative

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) target and (b) average period of time is to process an application for a visa under the Fresh Talent Working in Scotland scheme and what the longest period of time taken to do so has been, expressed in weeks.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive has no function in relation to the administration of the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme. The Scottish Executive does not consider applications for the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme, although it can provide advice on the requirements. All applications are made to, and considered by, either UKvisas (for those applying from abroad) or the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (for those applying within Scotland). Processing times are a matter for them.

Health

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice is given to new parents to help avoid their babies developing deformational plagiocephaly.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that health professionals are aware of deformational plagiocephaly and provide appropriate advice to new parents.

Lewis Macdonald: Although no specific advice is given to new parents on deformational plagiocephaly, the leaflet Reduce the Risk of Cot Death advises new parents that it is good for a baby’s development to experience different positions when awake. Officials of the Health Department are meeting with the Scottish Cot Death Trust later this month to review this leaflet.

Health

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make corrective treatment for babies with deformational plagiocephaly available through the NHS.

Lewis Macdonald: The current treatment of babies with deformational plagiocephaly includes supervised "tummy time" and encouraging non-sleep patterns and activity, for example playing and being held. In nearly all cases of deformational plagiocephaly the child’s head returns to a normal shape without any treatment. If the condition worsens or shows no sign of improvement, then referral to a neurosurgeon would take place.

  There is little evidence to support the use of helmets and the current consensus view of paediatric neurosurgeons in Scotland is that these should not be used.

Health

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance is given to midwives, health visitors and GPs to enable them to recognise and treat cases of deformational plagiocephaly among newborn babies.

Lewis Macdonald: No specific guidance is currently given to midwives, health visitors and GPs on recognising and treating deformational plagiocephaly among newborn babies. I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-22262 on 27 January 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Health and Safety

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what contact its officials have had with the Health and Safety Executive with regard to gas safety or the Gaswork Notification Scheme.

Allan Wilson: Executive officials have been in contact with the Health and Safety Executive on at least six occasions with regard to the Gas Work Notification scheme but no formal record of how many calls or e-mails is maintained. All the contact has been as a result of the previous questions put down on this subject and the external communications received relating to it.

Health and Safety

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has regarding the notification that local authorities have been given by CORGI in respect of gasworks in their jurisdictions since the introduction of the Gaswork Notification Scheme.

Allan Wilson: The Executive holds no such information.

Health and Safety

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many improper or illegal gas fittings have been reported in Scotland since the introduction of the Gaswork Notification Scheme.

Allan Wilson: The Executive does not hold information on improper or illegal gas fittings.

  However, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has information on the number of dangerous gas fittings which have been reported. In the period 1 April 2005 to 31 December 2005, the number reported in Scotland was 166.

Health and Safety

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many improper or illegal gas fittings had been reported in each year from 1995 to the introduction of the Gaswork Notification Scheme.

Allan Wilson: The Executive does not hold information on improper or illegal gas fittings.

  However, the Health and Safety Executive has managed to provide information on the number of dangerous gas fittings which have been reported in Scotland for the years 2001-02 to 2004-05 as follows:

  

 2001-02
462


 2002-03
399


 2003-04
273


 2004-05
294

Health and Safety

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what correspondence has taken place in the last five years between the Minister or Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning and CORGI, the Health and Safety Executive and gas installers in Scotland.

Allan Wilson: I spoke by phone to Lord Hunt prior to the recent debate in the Scottish Parliament on the Gas Work Notification Scheme. I have since written to him mentioning some of the points made during the debate and giving him the link to the official report and I am scheduled to meet him again on 31 January 2006 to discuss the matter. My officials, at my instruction, have also ensured that CORGI was notified that the debate had taken place and also provide it with the link to the official report. I am not aware of any previous correspondence between Enterprise Minister(s) or Deputies and CORGI, the Health and Safety Executive and gas installers in Scotland.

Justice

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what communication the Minister for Justice has had with the Home Office regarding the impact of the possible downgrading of cannabis.

Hugh Henry: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues, including classification of drugs.

Mental Health

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received in the last five years from interested parties in respect of the delivery of mental health services.

Lewis Macdonald: There is on-going engagement with a range of stakeholders including the statutory, voluntary and private sectors. Service users, carers and other interests are also actively involved within formal and other arrangements including the mechanisms in place for public and patient involvement in the design of services and policy.

Money Lending

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many licensed money lenders there are.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive has no functions in relation to licensing of money lenders. Licensing of money lending is a reserved matter dealt with by the Office of Fair Trading.

NHS Procurement

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of AxSys Technologies having been named as the successful bidder in NHS Scotland’s national generic clinical system procurement process, what other software suppliers were considered and what criteria were used to select AxSys Technologies.

Mr Andy Kerr: The requirement was advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union . From the initial responses to the advert, 12 companies were selected to respond to a detailed requirements document. Following an extensive evaluation process, the respondents were reduced initially to five and then to two. These two companies were then asked to respond to a tender following a process of contract negotiation with the winner selected largely on price.

  The evaluation criteria included:

  Experience of working in a broad clinical environment; availability of the toolset; technical merit of the proposed toolset and ease of use; ability to use the toolset in all types of clinical environment; value for money.

NHS Procurement

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of AxSys Technologies having been named as the successful bidder in NHS Scotland’s national generic clinical system procurement process, whether AxSys Technologies will work with any joint venture partners with a track record of installing such systems elsewhere.

Mr Andy Kerr: The contract with AxSys Technology is a non-exclusive contract which means that other parties employed by NHS Scotland may use the toolset to develop applications. There is nothing to prevent AxSys employing sub-contractors to deliver developments.

NHS Procurement

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of AxSys Technologies having been named as the successful bidder in NHS Scotland’s national generic clinical system procurement process, what criteria will be used to monitor the development and implementation progress of the system.

Mr Andy Kerr: There are two aspects to clinical systems delivery with the GCS toolset. The first is the on-going development of the toolset product itself, and its implementation within NHSScotland developer teams, or by third parties commissioned by NHSScotland, to enable clinical systems development. The second relates to the development of clinical applications with the toolset, and their subsequent implementation in the clinical environment. The contract is concerned with the first of these – i.e. the delivery, maintenance and continuous development of a robust and forward-looking toolset that keeps pace with technological advances and clinical requirements, and its successful implementation across NHSScotland. However, the usefulness of GCS-built clinical systems in the delivery of patient care will be the most powerful measure of toolset effectiveness, so benefits realisation measures will take both aspects into account. Criteria for measuring benefits realisation will therefore include the ease, flexibility and build-speed facilitated by the toolset during the development process, plus the clinical acceptability and level of usage of resultant systems.

  The contract itself includes an enabling framework with AxSys for the development of applications although this is not an exclusive contract.

NHS Procurement

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of AxSys Technologies having been named as the successful bidder in the NHS Scotland’s national generic clinical system procurement process, when the system planned will be installed and fully operational at both pilot and national roll-out levels

Mr Andy Kerr: Use of the toolset by NHSScotland developers is currently being piloted by the SCI-DC (Scottish Care Information – Diabetes Collaboration) team based in the Clinical Technology Centre of Ninewells Hospital, Dundee. It is planned to develop the next version of the SCI-DC Clinical system, in support of diabetes hospital out-patient clinics, with the GCS toolset. A number of Early Adopter projects have also been identified for early development, in the clinical priority areas of cancer and mental health, and detailed requirements gathering is currently underway. Since the toolset will be used in a variety of settings and for different purposes, the timeline for individual developments will vary. However, it is planned that the GCS toolset will be made widely available to the service during the summer of 2006 – once training and skills prerequisites are established, and national guidelines for its optimal usage have been informed by the early work.

NHS Procurement

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of AxSys Technologies having been named as the successful bidder in NHS Scotland’s national generic clinical system procurement process, what milestones have been put in place to monitor progress against the planned overall implementation programme.

Mr Andy Kerr: The first milestone is the delivery of standard GCS interfaces to the NHSScotland core integration products – i.e. SCI Store and SCI Gateway. Delivery of these interfaces is due for completion in early March 2006. Delivery of an appropriate training and support infrastructure is another major milestone for the programme, and the requirement will be informed by on-going work with the SCI-DC team. Planning work is on-going with the local projects involved in early implementation to agree milestones and delivery targets for their individual projects. The delivery of successful clinical systems in support of patient care is of course far wider than the development tools of choice, with development representing only a small proportion of the overall timescale.

NHS Procurement

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of AxSys Technologies having been named as the successful bidder in NHS Scotland’s national generic clinical system procurement process, what guarantee the Executive has that this decision will fulfil the function and provide the performance and long-term service resilience required by NHS Scotland from the outset and for the foreseeable future.

Mr Andy Kerr: As with the procurement of any system, it is only possible to predict future success by thorough evaluation, feedback from existing users of the supplier and product and from past experience. The Executive has no reason to believe that the GCS toolset will not fulfil the requirement for NHSScotland. However, it should be noted that the toolset is delivering a capability to develop systems, and not the clinical systems themselves, and the ability of NHSScotland to make effective use of the toolset will be a major factor in its success.

NHS Procurement

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of AxSys Technologies having been named as the successful bidder in NHS Scotland’s national generic clinical system procurement process, what confidence the Executive has that the AxSys Technologies systems will be installed and operational within an acceptable timeframe compared with competing software from other suppliers installed elsewhere.

Mr Andy Kerr: The evaluation programme concluded that the ease of use associated with the AxSys toolset, its acceptability to developer evaluation teams, its use of industry standard technologies, and that fact that AxSys systems are already well-used by the clinical community in the NHSScotland technical environment, meant that it would be at least as well placed as others to deliver to acceptable timescales.

NHS Procurement

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of AxSys Technologies having been named as the successful bidder in NHS Scotland’s national generic clinical system procurement process, what penalty clauses in respect of late delivery, poor response times and capacity and functionality problems have been built into the contract and what penalties could apply.

Mr Andy Kerr: The contract lays down staged payments for the toolset with payments falling due after successful delivery of developments. The eventual cost of the licence is also tied to the number of users and the move to a full (unlimited) national licence is at the sole option of NHS Scotland. The support terms include a service credit regime if the contractor fails to meet pre-determined response requirements. Similar features are also anticipated for developments commissioned by NHS Scotland.

  The contractor could suffer late, or reduced, payment of the licence fees or lose income for support of the toolset or any developments. There are therefore significant incentives in place for the contractor to deliver and to support the toolset.

Nursing and Midwifery

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many midwife hours have been worked in each year from 1994 to 2005.

Lewis Macdonald: The number of midwife hours worked in each year is not available centrally. Centrally held information provides details of staff in post at particular workforce census dates.

  Snapshot figures are available for headcount and whole-time equivalent (WTE) staff in post. WTE adjusts headcount to take account of part time working. Latest available figures are at 30 September 2005. These do not include data on bank and agency usage.

  Further information is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics, at www.isdscotland.org/workforce.

  Midwives in NHS Scotland, Headcount and Whole-Time Equivalent as at 30 September

  

 Year
 Headcount
 WTE


 1994
3,964
3,284.6


 1995
3,875
3,184.9


 1996
3,812
3,126.2


 1997
3,748
3,076.6


 1998
3,663
2,995.3


 1999
3,626
2,962.8


 2000
3,600
2,928.2


 2001
3,504
2,859.9


 2002
3,475
2,839.0


 2003
3,506
2,862.9


 2004
3,507
2,857.8


 2005
3,534
2,861.9



  Source : ISD Scotland.

Pensions

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with HM Treasury in respect of the funding of pension schemes for teachers and NHS Scotland and civil service employees following the agreement of 18 October 2005 on reform of public sector pension schemes and what the outcome has been.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive is represented by the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) in discussions at the UK level on progress on the reform of the teachers’ and NHS pension schemes which were included under the framework principles agreed at the UK Public Services Forum on 18 October 2005. The agreed process is being followed, with cost envelopes being prepared for each scheme for approval by HM Treasury. Discussions on the cost envelopes for the England and Wales schemes are already underway. The SPPA has been discussing with HM Treasury the need to apply the general approach to establishing the cost envelopes in England and Wales to the equivalent schemes in Scotland. However, no cost envelopes have been finalised and those for the schemes in the devolved administrations have still to be discussed.

  The Scottish Executive has no involvement with the civil service pension scheme which is the responsibility of the UK Government.

Pre-School Education

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many community schemes in areas of multiple deprivation specifically target children aged under three and their parents and what those schemes are.

Robert Brown: There are a range of schemes supporting families with children under three, including the Sure Start Scotland programme which provides targeted support for families who are vulnerable for whatever reason. These families are not, however, always located in areas of multiple deprivation. Mapping Sure Start Scotland indicated that there has continued to be a year on year increase in the numbers of children and parents supported. In 2003-04 these were 15,400 and 9,600 respectively.

  Phase 1 of the National Demonstration Project for Child and Family Health in Scotland, Starting Well, targeted children aged 0 to three and their parents from two specific areas of multiple deprivation. Phase 2 of the project works with vulnerable children aged 0 to five across Glasgow.

  Although the £318 million Community Regeneration Fund does not target 0 to threes directly, it supports a range of activities in areas of multiple deprivation. This includes some which may be of indirect benefit to 0 to threes such as child care and health support.

  There are over 100 Working for Families (WFF) projects currently operating in 10 local authority areas which support parents in disadvantaged areas or groups to progress towards or into employment by removing childcare barriers. Support is provided to parents of children in the 0 to 16 age group, which includes parents of children under three, although these parents are not specifically targeted as a separate sub-group. WFF projects include key workers who provide focussed adult support for employment related activity and a range of childcare projects aimed at improving accessibility to services and building capacity where necessary.

Pre-School Education

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has carried out into intervention schemes for children aged under three and their parents and whether it has introduced programmes as a result of that research.

Robert Brown: The Scottish Executive commissioned a long-term independent evaluation of the Glasgow-based child health demonstration project, Starting Well, leading to implementation of Phase 2 of this programme. The "Growing Up in Scotland" research programme now underway, will provide information about the impact of existing services for families with children, including those under three years of age, and inform future policy development.

Pre-School Education

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce early intervention programmes for children aged under three.

Robert Brown: The Scottish Executive has a range of early intervention programmes for children under three years and keeps all of these under review.

Prison Service

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-20860 by Cathy Jamieson on 29 November 2005, whether the only way in which the Scottish Prison Service measures whether staff turnover adversely affects the performance of its services is by comparing the level of staff turnover to the UK average and by meeting performance targets set out by ministers.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Yes.

Prison Service

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown of the ages of the female prison population in each of the last five years, broken down into (a) under 21, (b) 21 to 25, (c) 26 to 30, (d) 31 to 35, (e) 36 to 40, (f) 41 to 45 and (g) 46 and over.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The available information is given in the following table:

  Number of Female Prisoners in Custody on 30 June in Each of the Last Five Years

  

 
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004


 Under 21
 40
 51
 42
 41
 53


 21 - 25
 48
 61
 86
 79
 88


 26 - 30
 39
 51
 58
 45
 57


 31 - 35
 33
 33
 39
 45
 44


 36 - 40
 23
 34
 40
 48
 54


 41 - 45
 6
 9
 13
 19
 27


 46 and over
 12
 18
 15
 18
 19

Private Finance Initiative

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which private finance initiative schemes (a) have reached financial close and are completed and operational, (b) have reached financial close and work has started on site, (c) are in negotiation but have not yet reached financial close and (d) have not yet placed advertisements in the Official Journal of the European Union , broken down by (i) capital value and (ii) completion or anticipated completion date.

Mr Tom McCabe: The information requested is already within the public domain and can be accessed from the Scottish Executive’s website. PPP projects in Scotland that are either operational or signed can be found on www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/Finance/18232/donedeals .

  PPP projects in Scotland that are in procurement or have yet to be advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union can be found on:

  www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/Finance/18232/futuredeals.

Public Expenditure

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will liaise with HM Treasury to correct the figures for Enterprise and Employment, published in December 2005 in Government Expenditure and Revenues in Scotland 2003-04, given that in private correspondence, dated 23 August 2005, the Treasury indicated that there was a mistake in the classification of expenditure by Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise between the "Employment" and "Enterprise and Economic Development" categories in the Treasury’s public expenditure database and, if so, when it will publish corrected figures.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Executive is working to establish the best functional classification for expenditure by the Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. Any change in the classification will be reflected in Treasury’s Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses and therefore in Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland .

Public Expenditure

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the statement in Government Expenditure and Revenues in Scotland 2003-04 (GERS) that unidentifiable expenditure outside the United Kingdom was allocated to Scotland on the same basis as non-identifiable expenditure, in line with the principle that "expenditure outside the UK is non-identifiable from the perspective of the UK’s constituent countries, as the benefits are shared between them", how much of the expenditure on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link in 2003-04 was classified in HM Treasury’s public expenditure database as being outside the UK and, of this, what proportion the Executive allocated to Scotland in GERS; how much of the expenditure on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link in 2003-04 was identifiable within the UK and, of this, what proportion was identifiable to Scotland, and whether the Executive considers the differences in proportions allocated to Scotland to be justifiable.

Mr Tom McCabe: Expenditure on the Channel Tunnel Rail link in 2003-04 that is included in Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses in identifiable expenditure outside the UK amounted to £166 million (43 per cent of all expenditure on the Channel Tunnel Rail link, corresponding to the share of foreign passengers using the service) and the estimate of the Scottish share of this is calculated using its population share.

  £224 million (57 per cent of all expenditure on the Channel Tunnel Rail link) was identified within the UK and of this £1.2 million (0.3 per cent of all expenditure on the Channel Tunnel Rail link) was allocated to Scotland, based on information of passenger origin.

  This methodology is used because expenditure outside the UK cannot be identified to any specific UK region and the estimated Scottish share of identifiable expenditure outside the UK is based on the assumption that the Scottish population benefits from the enhanced travel opportunities from outside the UK.

Rail Services

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with First ScotRail in respect of train punctuality since First ScotRail was awarded the contract to run train services in Scotland.

Tavish Scott: Transport Scotland officials meet monthly with First ScotRail to review performance on the rail network, including punctuality. This meeting is a franchise commitment and the Scottish Executive play an active role to ensure First ScotRail, in conjunction with other industry partners, are addressing services where there are concerns with performance.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Renewable Energy

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive when the new arrangements to encourage investment in marine renewables, announced by the Deputy First Minister and Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning on 7 September 2005, will come into force.

Nicol Stephen: We have now commissioned a detailed study which will consider the form, extent and effectiveness of any changes which might be made to the Renewables Obligation (Scotland), the ROS, to deliver support aimed at accelerating the deployment of wave and tidal energy devices around Scotland. The conclusions and recommendations emerging from this study will form the basis of our forthcoming consultation on this and other aspects of the ROS.

  Any changes thus agreed upon will be implemented in April 2007.

Research and Development

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive where Scotland would rank were it included in the European Innovation Scoreboard 2005 and what the value and rank for Scotland would be for each of the European Innovation Scoreboard indicators.

Nicol Stephen: The European Innovation Scoreboard 2005 was published on 13 January 2006. At this time we are not in a position to benchmark Scotland relative to the 2005 index, as the 2005 UK Community Innovation Survey results, which include results for Scotland, are not yet published.

  A recent report by the Scottish Executive published 23 January 2006, Scottish Innovation System: Actors, Roles and Actions, benchmarks Scotland’s performance in innovation against other European regions. The report ranks Scotland’s innovation performance relative to the European Innovation Scorecard 2004 as follows:

  Scotland is above average (top quartile) in terms of the overall regional innovation index, and again in terms of those indicators dominated by public investment decisions.

  Scotland is below average (third quartile) in terms of the key measures of innovation outputs – the share of new-to-the-firm products in manufacturing.

  Business research and development expenditure in Scotland is below average (third quartile).

  Scotland has below average (third quartile) employment in medium or high-tech manufacturing although knowledge diffusion among Scottish manufacturing companies is still above average (second quartile).

  Employment in high-tech services is above average (second quartile), while knowledge diffusion among Scottish service companies are below average (third quartile).

  Full details of this benchmarking are available at the following web link:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/15689/9743.

Research and Development

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will measure Scotland’s progress in innovation against the European Innovation Scoreboard and publish any such measurements.

Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive uses a range of measures to monitor Scotland’s progress in innovation relative to our European comparators. The Community Innovation Survey (CIS) ( http://www.dti.gov.uk/iese/cis.htm ) is the main innovation index for European comparisons and one which is monitored by the Executive. The CIS is also the main data source for the European Innovation Scoreboard.

  Scotland’s performance relative to the European Innovation Scoreboard is published in recent Executive research (Scottish Innovation System: Actors, Roles and Actions) and is available via the following link http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/15689/9743.

Research and Development

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what international comparators it uses when assessing the performance of Scotland in respect of innovation and research and development.

Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive uses a wide range of measures to monitor Scotland’s innovation and research and development (R&D) performance against international comparators.

  The key measure we use when assessing the performance of Scotland in respect to innovation, is the Community Innovation Survey (CIS). The CIS provides a range of indicators of innovative performance and allows comparisons to be made with other regions of the UK and European countries. Information on the CIS is available at the following link http://www.dti.gov.uk/iese/cis.htm.

  The Scottish Executive also monitors research and development expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product in our key OECD competitors, to benchmark Scotland’s relative R&D performance. These data are published annually by the Executive in Business Enterprise Research and Development in Scotland. This can be accessed via the following web link:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/09/2991205/12064.

Schools

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities have a policy of restricting access to school playgrounds and playing fields outwith school hours.

Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive does not collect information centrally on such detailed aspects of local school management.

Scottish Executive Expenditure

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent since 1999 on projects which have not achieved their stated objectives.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive strives at all times to ensure that the stated objectives and targets of our spending plans are met. We have published progress against targets set by each portfolio in the Annual Evaluation Reports. We also published a report of progress against the Programme for Government for 1999 to 2003, and are monitoring progress against A Partnership Agreement for a Better Scotland . We monitor progress against objectives, aiming for continuous improvement in value for money.

Scottish Executive Expenditure

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that any of its spending since 1999 has been wasteful and, if so, how much.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive strives at all times to ensure that the Scottish Budget is spent as effectively as possible. We monitor and review expenditure to ensure economy, efficiency and effectiveness, and with regard to propriety and good financial management. Independent scrutiny of the Executive is carried out by the Auditor General of Scotland.

  Past expenditure was, and published spending plans are, set to meet our commitments to the Scottish people under the Programme for Government and A Partnership Agreement for a Better Scotland. Spending plans are approved annually by the Scottish Parliament through a Budget Act.

Scottish Executive Staff

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to reduce the number of days lost as a result of sickness absence in each of its departments.

Mr Tom McCabe: A review of the Scottish Executive Managing Attendance procedures was undertaken during 2005 and consideration given to what further actions could be taken to reduce the Executive’s sickness absence below the current level.

  The revised procedures, which will shortly be implemented, include involving line management to a greater extent in managing staff who breach the intermittent absence trigger point and a more prompt referral of staff to the Executive’s Occupational Health Service, where applicable. A new training course for line managers, intended to develop effective management techniques for dealing with managing attendance, is in its final design stage.

  Resolution strategies for all long-term sick cases have been developed, resulting so far in the return to work of a third of the cases approached, with some others leaving the organisation through resignation, dismissal or medical retirement. This work is on-going.

  These measures together with a variety of flexible working practices are aimed at reducing sick absence and assisting staff to return to work as quickly as possible.

Scottish Executive Staff

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its employees have been dismissed in each year since 1999.

Mr Tom McCabe: The following table provides the number of employees dismissed from Scottish Executive core departments since 1999.

  

 Year
 Number of Dismissals


 1999
24


 2000
14


 2001
17


 2002
13


 2003
9


 2004
17


 2005
10


 Total
104

Scottish Executive Staff

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of unfair dismissal have been brought against it in each year since 1999; how many of these cases it lost; how many cases are outstanding, and what the total cost was of these proceedings.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive does not hold, on a central database, information related to the number of claims for unfair dismissal that have been brought against it since 1999, the outcome of such claims and the costs involved in responding to such claims. This information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. At present there is one on-going claim for unfair dismissal against the Scottish Executive.

  The Central Office of the Employment Tribunals in Scotland, the Eagle Building, 215 Bothwell Street, Glasgow, holds a public record of all Employment Tribunal cases brought in Scotland and may be able to provide some information relevant to your question.

Wildlife

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21559 by Rhona Brankin on 21 December 2005, what activities apart from trapping for the purposes of relocation or killing each of the 30 licences issued under the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994 in relation to otters permitted.

Rhona Brankin: The licences referred to above were issued for a variety of purposes and include disturbance of otters and the destruction and repair of holts.

  The licences have now been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) (Bib. number 38705), and each licence details the activities permitted under the licence, the purpose for the licence, as well as its time period. As amendment and extension licences have been included, the number of licences placed in the SPICe totals 44.

  Information which could lead to the identification of individual persons, or locations of otter holts becoming known, has been taken out of the licences for data protection purposes under the terms of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.

Wildlife

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21559 by Rhona Brankin on 21 December 2005, to what time period and area of land each of the 30 licences issued under the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994 in relation to otters applied.

Rhona Brankin: The licences have now been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) (Bib. number 38705), and each licence details the activities permitted under the licence, the purpose for the licence, as well as its time period. As amendment and extension licences have been included, the number of licences placed in the SPICe totals 44.

  Licences are not issued for areas of land, but for locations.

Youth Organisations

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to restore the annual training grant to national youth organisations which was discontinued in 2002.

Robert Brown: Support from the Children, Young People and Families Unified Voluntary Sector Fund can include support for training, provided the purpose of the training accords with the wider criteria for the Fund agreed by Ministers.

  The training of staff and volunteers in youth organisations is being considered by the Scottish Executive in the context of the National Youthwork Strategy on which we plan to consult early next year.